Quote Originally Posted by Zombiphobe View Post
As a point of clarification. A person's DNA/genes/genetic code is essentially fixed from conception; it is NOT an open book waiting to be formed from some environmental stimilus. What I think you are bringing up is the whole debate over Nature vs. Nurture. Are someone's actions and behaviour the result of some genetic predisposition from birth or are they a result of their upbringing and environment? Following your dog analogy, could a dog be overly agressive because they belong to a certain breed with a genetic predisposition toward agresssion or was it raised in such a way that resulted in this agressive behavior? Both factors can influence who we are and how we behave, but they are not the same thing.

While I agree that the environment that Scratch grew up in and the events in her past most definitely had a hand in the person she has become, her environment growing up did not alter her on a genetic level.
*ahem*
::stands up behind lectern::
Epigenetics research is showing that environment can cause change on a chromosomal level--specifically by causing the suppression or expression of certain genes. And, these genetic changes can be passed on to children.